The Puritan Avenger
by PotCFan101
Summary: Following the Battle of New York, Tony Stark does not make it out of the wormhole. Instead, he is transported to an alternate universe, one where time was set back four hundred years. After meeting a man named Solomon Kane, Tony must learn how to survive without his Iron Man armor, if he hopes to return to his time and universe. Plot taken from the 2009 movie Solomon Kane.
1. Prologue: A New World

"I can close it!" Iron Man heard Black Widow yell in the comms. It had felt like hours, and Chitauri were still coming in through the wormhole that Loki had created with the Tesseract. "Can anybody copy?"

"Do it!" Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America, ordered, growing tired of the battle.

"No, wait!" Tony shouted.

"Stark, these things are still coming." Steve stated.

"I got a nuke coming in." Tony explained. "It's gonna blow in less that a minute. And I know just where to put it." Iron Man flew up towards the missile, grabbing ahold of it from the underbelly, and forcing it towards the portal, not the city.

"Stark, you know that's a one way trip." Rogers said into his comms.

"Save the rest for the turn, J." Tony told his AI, Jarvis, ignoring Steve.

"Sir, shall I try Miss Potts?" Jarvis asked, pulling up Pepper Pott's face and phone number on his heads up display. Tony swallowed, thinking for a moment.

"Might as well." Stark finally said, and Jarvis tried calling Pepper. Tony kept flying, putting more power in the thrusters, and missing his tower by mere millimeters, soared up into the air, towards the portal. Within seconds, Tony made it on the other side, into space and towards the Chitauri's mothership. Jarvis shut down, the call failed, and Tony's entire suit powered down. Tony began losing air, and let go of the nuke, falling back down. The nuke detonated, hitting the alien ship, but the blast also threw Iron Man out of the way of the portal. Stark closed his eyes, being flung through space, not knowing where the aftershock would send him.

When Tony opened his eyes, he felt as if he had landed on his back, hard. Sitting up for a moment, he noticed that most of his armor was in pieces around him, while he wore only the chest piece and helmet.

"Oh no." Tony muttered, looking around, appearing to be in a snowy forest of sorts. "Jarvis, you there?" Nothing. Getting a cold shudder, Tony pried off his Iron Man helmet, and took off the chest piece. They were no use anymore, destroyed from the fall. Just as Tony began hiding the pieces under a log, he heard voices a few feet away.

"I don't want any trouble." A commanding voice was heard.

"Well, that's too bad." Another voice sneered. "Because you've already got it!" A grunt of pain was heard, causing Tony to walk over to where the voices were. There, he saw three people attempted to rob one man. The man being robbed had long dark hair, and all of them appeared to be wearing rags.

"Let's have a look." One of the men, someone bald and short, announced, kicking the long haired man and grabbing his bag.

"Hey, stop!" Tony shouted, walking over to the three robbers. The three men laughed.

"Oh, and who've going to stop us?" The bald man asked. "You?"

"Yes. Because I'm Iron Man." Tony declared. The three robbers looked at him, before bursting out laughing.

"Then where is your armor, knight?" The bald man asked, and continued laughing. Just then, Tony remembered that his armor was destroyed, and even if it wasn't, he couldn't recharge it in the field.

"Shit." Tony muttered, ducking just in time as one of the other men, having a dirty looking beard, swung a large stick at him. Tony punched the guy in the face and grabbed the stick, kicking the bearded man and swinging it at the third man, who was also bald. Stark turned around, just in time to block the knife of the first bald man, presumably the leader, and thinking quickly, knocked the knife out of the man's hands and head butted him, causing the robber's nose to break.

"This isn't over!" The robbers cursed, running away. Stark breathed hard. He had always been taught to fight from friends like Happy Hogan and Phil Coulson, but he never imagined he'd use them without his Iron Man armor. Suddenly, Tony remembered the person he rescued, turning to the man with long hair.

"You didn't defend yourself." Tony noted, confused, but offered his hand to help him up.

"I will not fight another man." The man told him, taking Tony's hand and standing. "I have renounced violence."

"Well, every now and then, you have to do some healthy self defense." Tony joked. "It really gets the circulation going." The man just stared at him, then looked at his shirt.

"What is the 'Black Sabbath'?" The man asked. Tony looked down.

"Come on, really?" Tony said, before catching the man's expression. He wasn't joking. "It's, uh, a band that plays music. Wait, where am I?"

"You're in England." The man answered, with a blank expression. "Did you go drunk and forget?"

"Something like that…" Tony replied, thinking about how he got there. "What year is this?"

"It is 1601, after the death of the lord." The man informed. Something in Tony's head clicked. The Tesseract! It must have sent him to an alternate dimension, or back in time! "Who are you?"

"My name is… Anthony Stark." Tony told the man, offering his hand. "My friends call me Tony."

"I am Solomon Kane." The man replied, shaking Stark's hand. Tony smiled. Perhaps he could stick around with his new friend, and figure out a way back to his home later.


	2. Fitting in with the Crowd

Tony and Solomon continued walking through the words, neither of them knowing where to go.

"Do you know where to travel?" Solomon asked.

"No." Tony said bluntly. "I'm kind of new here. Where are you going?"

"I do not know where my journey will take me." Solomon admitted. "I must find my own path, after I was expelled from my sanctuary." Tony gave him a weird look.

"I have no idea what you just said." Tony said sarcastically. Just as they had gotten wearing of walking, a cart pulled up, and a family went to meet them.

"Hello!" The man, presumably the father, greeted. To Tony, he was wearing a black cape, with one of those pilgrim hats he used to see in the movies. "Have you travelled far?"

"Somewhat." Solomon muttered.

"If you would like, you can travel with us." The man offered. "My name is William Crowthorn. The lord must be watching over you two, he guided us to you."

"Solomon Kane." Solomon replied. "This is my friend, Anthony Stark."

"A pleasure." William then turned to his older son. "Edward, we shall make camp tonight." Solomon, Tony, and the Crowthorns stopped their travel and settled by a river. As the children began setting up their tent, William's wife approached Kane and Stark.

"Master Kane, Master Stark." She told the two men. "You should be resting."

"We can hardly repay your hospitality with idleness, ma'am." Solomon replied, getting up.

"Besides, where I come from, I help people for free." Tony casually threw out.

"Just give us a few moments to clean up." Solomon continued. "We'll help you as soon as we can." Solomon and Tony went down to the river, with Solomon taking off his shirt to get clean.

"What's with the cross?" Tony asked, pointing to the cross shaped brand on Kane's back.

"I have tried to give up my life of wickedness to serve the lord, but I was expelled from the monastery that I had seeked refuge in." Solomon spoke bitterly, then turned to Tony. "What is it you meant by you help people for free?"

"Because where I come from, I'm part of a team." Tony told him. "We're called the Avengers, and we fight the battles that people from Earth can't."

"The Avengers… interesting name." Solomon noted. "But are you sure that you are not drunk again?"

"Trust me, I might be an alcoholic, but I know what I'm talking about." Tony insisted. Solomon shrugged, almost noticing that William's daughter, Meredith, was looking at his cross brand. Once Solomon and Tony finished cleaning, they joined the Crowthorns in supper, with Kane quickly devouring his food.

"You've regained your appetite, Master Kane." William's wife noted.

"It's a fine meal, Mistress Crowthorn." Solomon smiled.

"My Katherine can make anything taste good." William boasted. "Leather boots and nettles last Sunday." The children began laughing, while Tony chuckled, steadily eating his dinner.

"William tells us you were captain of a ship." Katherine brought up, which gained Tony's attention.

"Yeah, that I was." Kane confirmed.

"Did you fight the Spanish?" The youngest boy, Samuel, asked.

"I did." Kane replied.

"Who else?" Samuel asked again.

"Seemed to have fought everyone at some time." Solomon deflected the question, not wanting to open up about his past. "I've had many masters. One such voyage had been with Admiral Drake. But it did not end well."

"Must have been exciting." Meredith spoke up. "Seeing the world and learning new things."

"Why do you think a life of violence and bloodshed is so admirable, Meredith?" Edward asked harshly.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Meredith argued. "Edward, why do you argue with everything I say?"

"Because you need to learn what to-" Edward began to say, but his father interrupted him.

"I fought in the Queen's army once." William spoke, diverting the attention to him. "Before I found my faith. Now, taking another man's life, that's not an easy thing to do, don't you agree?" Solomon nodded.

"I must confess, Mister Crowthorn…" Kane said truthfully. "I was never more at home than I was in battle. The killing came easily to me." William looked down, seemingly disappointed at the revelation.

"And how about you, Master Stark?" Katherine asked, changing the subject.

"Well, Kat… can I call you Kat? Great." Tony began talking fast, before slowing down. "I had once ran a business selling weapons to people."

"So you were a merchant of sorts?" Samuel interrupted. Tony smirked.

"Exactly." He confirmed. "I didn't know the damage my weapons could cause, until I was captured by people using them to harm others. I had escaped, but nearly died, and swore to help others, creating a suit of armor to fight threats. I had recently joined a group of remarkable people to protect the innocent." Everyone looked at Stark in awe, not knowing what to make of the story.

"Is that group the 'Avengers' you had talked about?" Solomon asked. Tony nodded.

"But they probably think I'm dead now." Tony said sadly, jamming a stick in the dirt.

"Fear not, Master Stark." William reassured him. "The lord shall guide them to you." That night, Tony tried to sleep, but couldn't, as he was constantly thinking of his friends back at home, and how he never said goodbye to Pepper. Having enough, Tony walked out of the tent, seeing Solomon and William already conversing.

"Mind if I join you?" Stark asked.

"Please, sit." Crowthorn requested, pointing to a log near the fire. Grateful, Tony sat next to Kane.

"And how are you feeling?" William asked.

"I'll live." Tony shrugged off whatever pain he felt. "Let's just say I like to play close to my chest."

"Do you have family?" Solomon asked out of the blue. Tony looked up.

"I had a mother and a father." Tony still remembered the last time he spoke with his dad, Howard. "They passed away before I became a man."

"We've all lost loved ones." William said sympathetically. "Like I told Master Kane, we've lost them to plague, persecution, or bigotry. Edward even had a family, but the lord had embraced them into Heaven."

"So now where do you have to go?" Tony asked.

"The new world." William replied. "Sometimes we all need to start anew. You might consider joining us."

"Well, that's a kind offer, William." Solomon thought. "Very kind. Thank you. But I should be honest with you. You should know the kind of man you're thinking of taking in. I've done bad things. Terrible things. Cruel things. I am a… no, was… was an evil, evil man." William nodded, while Tony wondered what Solomon was hiding.

"But the lord speaks of redemption and forgiveness." William told him.

"No, my soul is damned." Kane insisted. "Satan's creatures shall take me, should I stray the path of peace."

"Then do not stray, Master Kane. Do not stray." William advised. "And speaking of starting anew…" Crowthorn took out an extra set of clothes, giving them to Stark. "Here, put these on. Whatever you are currently wearing, it makes you stick out. Best you look from around here." Tony looked down at his clothes, he was still wearing the Black Sabbath shirt. As much as he didn't want to, he felt as if he had to get rid of it.

"You're right." Tony replied. "I don't want to look like I'm not from here." Tony took off the Tee shirt and threw it in the fire. As he put on the older clothes, Tony stared at the flames, watching as the shirt burned for the rest of the night.


	3. Season of the Witch

The next morning, the Crowthorns, Solomon, and Tony continued their journey through the forest, with Kane and Stark walking behind the cart.

"Captain Kane!" Meredith called out. "I made these clothes for you. Your old ones, they look…"

"Look like what, Miss?" Solomon asked, smiling.

"A little… worn." Meredith replied. Solomon smirked, and walked quicker, catching up to the cart and taking the clothes, uttering a thank you. Kane then turned to Tony.

"Your clothes… the way you speak…" Solomon began. "Are you from a different time?"

"I didn't think that was too obvious." Tony grumbled. "But yeah, I'm from the year 2012, where I created a suit of armor that could fly and shoot projectiles from my hands."

"Then how did you get here, Master Stark?" Kane asked.

"I got in this battle at my home, and the aftermath sent me here." Tony explained. "I don't know how to get back, but I am trying to figure it out."

"Well, before that, you are welcome to travel with me." Solomon informed Tony. Stark silently agreed, as he had nowhere to go. Kane and Stark stayed silent for the rest of the trip, until the cart stopped at another river, giving Solomon the time to put on his new clothes.

"Now there stands a fine figure." Katherine complimented. "Don't you think, William?"

"Well, it's better than those rags you were wearing, that's a fact." William agreed.

"I'm glad I meet with your approval, ma'am." Solomon told her. While Kane and the Crowthorn's kept talking, Tony began gathering more wood for the fire. When he looked back, he saw that Solomon had on a tall hat, looking almost exactly like the pilgrims from those Thanksgiving cartoons.

The next day, the Crowthorns, Solomon Kane, and Tony made it out of the woods, walking through a plain field. Kane, Tony, and the youngest boy, Samuel, were walking way ahead, while everyone else stayed behind at the cart.

"Will you two be coming to America with us?" The boy asked.

"I'm not sure Samuel." Kane replied, with Tony nodding in agreement.

"But why?" Samuel asked.

"Well, you and your family are beginning a new life." Kane explained. "Whereas I need to undo an old one."

"And I'm not staying too long." Tony added cryptically. "I'm just here until I can find a way home."

"Where is your home?" Samuel asked.

"It's far from here." Stark simply stated. Samuel changed the subject.

"Those men who tried to hurt you." Samuel began. "You could have killed them, couldn't you? If your friend didn't save you?"

"There was a time where I would have ripped their still beating hearts from their chests." Kane replied, with Samuel backing up for a moment. Even Stark raised an eyebrow at him.

"Will you fight me?" Samuel continued.

"I will if you continue your infernal questioning." Kane groaned. Seeing a challenge, Samuel pretending to take Meredith hostage, and the two began to playfully battle with sticks, until the saw a sight that frightened them.

"Samuel, get back to the cart. Go on." Samuel went back to the horses, as William joined Tony and Solomon, staring at village that was destroyed. Stark, Kane, William, and Edward approached the village, looking for any survivors, but seeing everyone dead, with their eyes burned.

"Who could have done this?" Edward asked.

"The Devil." William simply replied. "The Devil was here." As Meredith looked at the bodies, Solomon looked up, seeing a post with rope around the middle.

"No, there was no Devil." Kane put the pieces together. "There was a witch burning here. The creature must have broken free."

"You know, in my time, it was found out that none of the girls burned were actually witches." Tony whispered to his companion, while Edward was silently praying.

"We should leave, all the same." Solomon suggested. Just then, they all heard a scream, and running in the direction of the sound, found Meredith with a little girl.

"We can't just leave her." Meredith pleaded. After a short conversation, they all agreed to take the girl with them on their journey, despite Tony saying it was a bad idea.

"I don't like it." Tony told Kane on a hill, as the Crowthorns comforted the girl by the fire. "She's the only survivor? Even if I don't believe in magic or the supernatural, I think she's hiding something."

"We can't know for sure." Kane insisted, and he and Tony began walking down the hill, overhearing the girl talking with the family.

"We should pray." Edward announced, taking out his cross.

"But I'm tired." The girl protested.

"Just a moment more." Katherine suggested. "For our prayers."

"I don't want to pray!" The girl shouted. Kane's eyebrow raised, getting an idea.

"Maybe you were right, Stark." Kane murmured.

"I usually am." Tony replied.

"It's alright, it's alright." Meredith comforted.

"I'm so tired. Please?" the girl pleaded.

"Of course you are, you poor thing." Meredith soothed. "Let's find you a place to sleep."

"Edward, I think the child should wear your cross tonight." Kane suggested. "For protection."

"Of course." Edward agreed, taking the cross off and giving it to Kane. Solomon thanked the young man and walked towards the girl.

"Here, child." Kane told her, showing the cross. "Wear this tonight. To keep you safe." Despite William's protest, Solomon knelt down next to the girl, but she grabbed Meredith's hand, speaking in a demonic voice.

" _It's you we want_." The girl whispered, and Meredith pulled her hand back, as if it was burned, and a black mark appeared on her hand.

"What did you do?" Meredith asked, as Solomon tried once more to give her the cross. The girl's eyes turned black, and her teeth turned sharp.

"Her, this is the witch!" Kane shouted, as the witch jumped up and attacked him.

"The Devil is waiting for you, Kane!" The witch shouted, beginning to strangle him. In the confusion, Tony ran over, and picking up a burning log, struck the witch in the back of the head. Kane was released of her grasp, but the witch flew up, disappearing in a flock of crows.

"Thanks, friend." Kane said, shaking Tony's hand. "Now do you believe in magic?"

"Yes." Tony hastily replied, after seeing what had just happened. _I've got to get out of here,_ Tony thought. _This place is getting weirder by the day._


	4. Ambushed

The next morning, Tony, Solomon, and the Crowthorns began unpacking their belongs, setting up camp in another area.

"Father, we have the firewood!" Samuel called out, with him and Tony each carrying bundles of wood.

"Well done, Samuel. Mister Stark." William complimented. "Break it up now."

"Let me help you with that." Solomon offered, helping Meredith with setting up a tent, with her expressing her thanks. "Here, let me see." Solomon took Meredith's hand and looked at the black mark, seeing three curved lines. "Does it hurt?"

"No." Meredith replied. "I can't feel anything. Why did that creature mark me?"

"I don't know." Solomon replied. "Evil has its own reasons."

"I might." Tony said, walking over to the pair. "That witch said the Devil is waiting for you, right? They might mark her to get to you."

"How can you be sure?" Kane asked.

"It's the old bait and switch." Tony replied. "It happens all the time from where I'm from." As Kane and Meredith looked at the other man, he went to help Samuel in breaking up the firewood.

"Are we safe?" Meredith asked, worried.

"Don't you worry." Solomon reassured her. "There is no evil in you, Meredith. Trust me." Meredith nodded, saying she trusted him, but Tony began overhearing Solomon to tell William to start a smaller fire. Once the firewood was all broken, Tony sat outside the tent, fiddling with a small piece of wood, some metal, and a knife, using his intellect to create a pair wrist mounted knives. Even without the Iron Man armor, he could still create tools and weapons.

Later that evening, Tony and Solomon were resting in the tent, when all of a sudden, Samuel woke them up, startling Kane.

"Solomon!" Samuel whispered, about to reach out, but Kane grabbed his hand, his eyes snapping open. The sound caused Tony to wake up as well.

"What's the matter?" Solomon asked.

"I heard something." Samuel revealed. "Beyond the trees."

"Wait here." Solomon ordered, and he and Stark left and walked past the trees, stopping when they saw multiple bandits at the bottom of the hill. They appeared to be herding people in cages, judging by the screams. Solomon heard footsteps behind him, looking back to see Samuel.

"Samuel, get down and keep quiet!" Kane yelled in a whisper.

"Who are they?" Samuel asked. "What are they?"

"Listen, I want you to go back to your father." Solomon whispered. "Tell him to move out immediately. Go!" Samuel nodded, and ran off back to William.

"We should help them." Tony declared, revealing his wrist daggers.

"How did you fashion those?" kane asked, confused.

"I'm a bit of an inventor." Tony explained. "And I got the idea from something I saw back home…"

"Either way, we are outmanned." Kane pointed out. "To engage them now would be suicide. And I have renounced violence."

"Solomon! Solomon!" The two heard Samuel cry out. Running as quickly as they could, Tony and Solomon ran back to their camp, finding that the bandits had raided their cart and tent, and had taken the Crowthorns hostage.

"No!" Solomon shouted, finally coming to a stop. Tony scanned the area, seeing at least a dozen bandits, with a man in armor and a leather mask riding a black horse. "Stop! Stop!"

"Solomon! Help us!" Meredith screamed, being restrained and separated from her family. Solomon simply stood there, eyes wide with horror, while, one of the bandits with an eyepatch grabbed Samuel, taking out a knife.

"No!" Solomon shouted. "Leave him be! Leave him be. Don't you hurt him. I am unarmed."

"I'm not." Tony growled, extending his knives.

"Solomon, help him!" Meredith pleaded.

"Solomon, kill him!" Samuel cried, but was told to be silent. "Kill them all!"

"Listen to him son, listen." William told Samuel, while Kane told him to not struggle. If you don't struggle, he'll let you go. Won't you?"

"Kill him." Samuel begged. "You know you can."

"Just be quiet, Samuel!" Solomon shouted, while Tony looked at Kane as if he was mad. Solomon looked around, seeing the man in the mask. "You! Are you their master? What is it you want? I'll do anything!" The man just raised his hand, clenching it in a fist, somehow choking the the bandit with the eyepatch.

"That's a nice trick, Darth Vader." Tony remarked. Everyone looked at him, wondering what that meant.

"Kill me." The bandit spoke. "Can you?"

"No. I can not." Solomon replied. It wasn't entirely true. "I am a man of peace. Don't you hurt that boy."

"This boy has more heart than any of you." The bandit continued, as Samuel begged for help. "He is the only man here."

"You may be a man of peace…" Tony told Kane, stepping forward, raising one of his arms. "But sometimes peace has to be fought for." Stark clenched a fist, and the knife on his wrist shot out, closing the distance and embedding itself in the bandit's good eye. The bandit let go of Samuel, falling to the ground.

"Take… the marked one." The bandit said with his dying breath. As Tony ran at the bandits, preparing to fight them, Solomon stared up at the sky, processing Stark's words. Stark began slashing and stabbing the bandits, picking up one of their swords and cutting off a man's head. Tony was soon joined by Kane, who grabbed his own sword and fought off the attackers.

"I thought you said you renounced violence." Tony said mid battle.

"You were right, Anthony." Kane replied, slashing another bandit's stomach open. "Sometimes peace needs to be fought for. And I have made me peace to being bound for Hell for killing these men." The two kept fighting off the bandits, with Tony using his other wrist knife to save Edward's life from one of the masked rider's men. In the distance, they could hear Meredith screaming, as she was taken by the rider. Before Tony could focus, he felt someone stab him in the gut. Stark fell, taking a sword with him and slashing whoever was behind him, killing the bandit, while Kane struggled against two men with axes. Luckily, he was able to outmaneuver them, taking an ax and killing them both. As Solomon ran off after Meredith and the rider, Tony crawled to the campfire, heating up the sword. Once he was hot enough, he pressed it to the wound, successfully cauterizing it. Tony gritted his teeth through the pain, and looked at William Crowthorn, laying down next to his wife and children, seeing William was also stabbed. Stark checked his sword, noticing that it was still hot.

"Mister Crowthorn, I can help stop that bleeding, but it's going to hurt." Tony offered. William simply nodded, and Tony cauterized his wound, while he screamed in agony. A few moments later, Solomon returned, but without Meredith.

"Solomon." William called out. "Get her back."

"I will." Kane promised.

"I'll help him." Tony chimed in.

"Get her back." William said again, grabbing Solomon by his coat. "Swear, on oath… to get her back for me. I promise you, if you save our child, your soul, too, will be saved. You can redeem yourself, Solomon, I know this to be true. Swear it to me."

"Will you be alright?" Tony asked, inspecting Crowthorn.

"We shall live, thanks to you, Master Stark." William smiled, before turning his attention back to Solomon. "Swear."

"I swear." Kane vowed. "I swear it William, I will find her."

"And I swear to aid you." Stark promised.

"Find her." Katherine said, giving Solomon a locket with Meredith's picture in it. "Go." Solomon nodded, and he and Tony walked away. Solomon put on his hat, and gathered his swords, while Tony wore his normal rags and retrieved his knives and stuck them back on his wrists. Tony also decided to wear some leather and one of the bandit's scarves, to offer a little bit more protection. The pair paused, however, when one of the bandits moved. The man died soon after, with his eyes fading from black to normal. Shocked, Kane looked around, seeing the bandit's eyes becoming normal again.

"That rider, he was controlling them." Tony pointed out. "He used some type of magic." Solomon nodded, taking two swords, and picking up a black tarp, placed it around his shoulders, wearing it like a cape.

"Wish I had my armor with me." Tony muttered. "It would have stopped me from getting hurt…"

"If you truly are from another time, then you shall have to learn not to rely solely on your armor." Kane advised. "You must learn how to survive without it." With that, Solomon and Tony mounted two of the horses left by the bandits, and rode off to rescue Meredith.


	5. The Tale of Solomon Kane

Stark and Kane rode for days, taking down any attackers who stood in their way. Occasionally, there was a cage full of people, and Kane took the time to free the prisoners, while Tony killed any of the surviving men sent by the masked rider.

"Meredith, are you in there?" Solomon would always shout, but there would be no answer. "Have you seen this girl?" Solomon took out the locket, showing prisoners Meredith's photo. "No no, look at it. Please, have you seen this girl?"

"I don't know her sir." They would reply, and run off.

"Where are they taking you?" Solomon asked another prisoner. "Have you seen this girl?"

"I don't know." The woman said truthfully. "There are raiders everywhere. Please! Please don't hurt me. I just want to go home." Solomon looked at the woman, shocked.

"Forgive me, child." He told her. "Forgive me. Go in peace."

"No luck?" Tony asked, as Solomon went back to the horses.

"None." Kane replied, and the two set off again. Tony and Solomon kept riding their horses, eventually coming across a field that was being walked upon by hundreds of villagers. Behind them was their village, a smoking ruin that was on fire.

"Dear God." Solomon murmured.

"You know, I gotta ask." Tony brought up. "You keep saying that your soul is damned for Hell. What exactly did you do?" Solomon sighed.

"There was a time when the world was plunging into darkness and chaos." Kane began to tell his tale. "A time of witchcraft and sorcery. A time when no one stood against evil…"

 _One year ago_

 _North Africa_

Solomon Kane, the dreaded sea captain, made his way to the castle, killing anyone who stood in his way. No matter how many guards attempted to subdue him, he killed them all. The guards realized this, and as he approached the castle doors, they were shut, attempting to keep Kane out. Solomon just sighed, having a cannon blow open the doors, and Kane strolled inside, his swords resting on his shoulders. Seeing a man still breathing, Solomon approached him.

"Where is the throne room?" Kane demanded, threatening the man with his sword. When he didn't answer, Solomon spoke in Arabic, until the man pointed in the direction. "Good lad. Now, let none of these putrid heathens live." Solomon pulled out his pistol, shooting the man dead, and advanced towards the throne. Kane and his crew entered a room, filled with mirrors.

"Silence, you dogs." Solomon growled, upon hearing a few crew members whisper that the treasure wasn't worth it. Suddenly, demons jumped out of the mirrors, pulling most of Kane's crew with them. "Hold steady!"

"Captain, there's devilry here!" The first mate said.

"I said, hold steady!" Kane shouted, and when the man tried to run, Solomon shot him. "I am the only devil here! Now, follow me!" The doors opened, with Solomon entering. Just as he got inside the throne room, the doors shut again, and he listened to the screams of his crew on the other side.

"Malthus!" Solomon shouted, pounding on the door. As soon as the screams started, they had ended. Turning back, Solomon approached the gold, enticed in the wealth, until he looked up, seeing that the king was dead, lying in a pool of his own blood. The air grew colder, evidenced by Solomon seeing his breath in his hand. With a shriek, black smoke started whirling around him, calling out his name, until it manifested as a black hooded creature, sitting on the throne.

"What are you?" Solomon asked, pointing his sword at the creature. It simply raised its hand, and Solomon felt immense pain, falling to his knees.

"I am the Devil's Reaper." The creature said. "I am here to claim you, Solomon Kane. Your deal is done."

"What deal? I made no deal!" Solomon shouted, confused.

"There was a deal." The Reaper insisted. "And your soul is the price. Your life of murder and greed is over."

"You cannot take my soul." Kane protested.

"Bow your head before me." The Reaper ordered, raising his hand again, reigniting the pain Solomon felt. "The Devil will have his due." The Reaper conjured a sword of flames, and pulled it up. The Reaper swung down, only for Kane to block the fatal blow with his own two swords.

"You can tell your master that I am not yet ready for Hell." Kane declared. "The lord protects me."

"Fool! He has abandoned you!" The Reaper replied, and swung wildly, but Solomon ducked and dodged every strike. Having enough, The Reaper pointed his flaming sword right at Kane's throat. "On your knees!"

"Never!" Solomon shouted. "You will never take my soul!" With a final shout of defiance, Kane jumped out a window behind him, landing in the cold waters below.

"You cannot escape us." The Reaper told him. "Your soul is damned!"

 _Now_

"...I had hid out in a monastery as long as I could, but they eventually cast my out, believing that darkness would befall us if I stayed." Solomon finished his tale. "I could not return home, because my father had named my brother his heir to his throne, and I killed him. I travelled the countryside for a while, before you found me."

"Wow." Tony remarked. "That sounds like you really had it in for you."

"And what about you, Stark?" Solomon asked. "Have you ever done something so evil, and are trying to make up for it?"

"Yes." Tony admitted. "I had once manufactured weapons for people all over the world. I didn't realize the harm they could do until a group of terrorists used them against me and the people I care about. I was captured by those terrorists and had to build a suit of armor in a cave to escape. Ever since then, I have tried to make amends by saving people."

"By being what you called Iron Man?" Solomon asked. "And joining a team you called the Avengers?" Tony nodded.

"But now, I don't have my armor." Tony said sadly. "I'm not much of help like this."

"Stark, you're not a hero because of that armor you used to wear." Kane told him. "What made you a hero is what you did for others. You helped them instead of doing harm. That's what makes you a good man."

"Thanks, Solomon." Tony said. "I just wish I knew what the other Avengers were doing…"

 _New York_

 _2012_

The portal above New York closed, and as Steve and Thor looked up, Iron Man had not fallen through.

"Dammit!" Steve yelled, kicking a dead Chitauri. "You stupid bastard! Why didn't you let go of the nuke!"

"How could Stark be so stupid?" Thor asked, looking down.

"Guys, I didn't see Tony come out of that wormhole." Black Widow said in the comms.

"Does that mean he's…" Hawkeye was about to ask, but stopped himself. Hulk walked over to Captain America and Thor, now more angry than ever.

"We're not done yet, Captain Rogers." Thor stated, remembering Loki. The remaining Avengers made their way to Stark Tower, where the God of Mischief attempted to get up.

"If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now." Loki started, but didn't see Stark. "Where's your other companion?"

"Shut up, Loki!" Thor shouted, knocking his brother out with his hammer.

"Fury, we won. The Chitauri are dead, and the wormhole is closed." Steve said in his comms. "But we lost someone. Tony… he didn't make it." For minutes there was silence, until Nick Fury finally spoke.

"We'll figure this out later." Fury ordered. "For now, take care of Loki and the Tesseract." The Avengers all nodded to each other, and handcuffed Loki and retrieved the Tesseract, leaving Stark Tower.


	6. Losing Faith

_England_

 _1601_

Tony and Solomon continued riding, coming to a stop at a chapel. They approached the church, opening the door, and saw that the interior was ruined, with the Jesus cross missing it's head. To Tony's surprise, Solomon knelt, and began to pray.

"Dear God, I beg you to listen to me now." Solomon begged. "I have failed you. I cannot find her. I am lost, and I need your light to help me find a way." Just then, a man snuck up on the pair, but Tony whirled around, grabbing his stick. Solomon himself jumped up, pointing his sword at the intruder, but upon seeing who it was, lowered the blade.

"Forgive me, father." Solomon said with remorse, and Tony gave the man his stick back. "Such times we live in. I wished only for some refuge and a moment of prayer."

"Praise God in his sanctuary." The priest announced, reaching his hands up to the heavens, before turning towards Stark. "And what of you, good sir?"

"I'm just following him." Tony admitted. "I do not believe in God." The priest's eyes darkened, and turned back to Kane.

"Praise him, in the firmament of his power." The man continued, looking up. "I've seen such terrible things."

"So, this is your home?" Tony asked, as the priest sat down.

"I need nowhere else." The man murmured. "I have nowhere else. You come far?"

"Three days hard ride brought us here." Solomon told him. "But we know not of where here is."

"These are the borderlands of Somerset and Devonshire." The priest informed.

"My home too." Solomon smirked.

"Sad homecoming for you then." The priest responded glumly.

"Have those raiders been here?" Stark asked.

"You mean those black eyed lapdogs of Malachi?" The priest asked. "Aye, they passed through here. Now they own all the lands to the west of here."

"Sounds like a Lord of the Rings movie…" Tony muttered under his breath.

"Then we shall be riding westward." Solomon declared.

"Then you both will ride towards your deaths." The priest warned.

"Who is this Malachi?" Solomon asked.

"You don't know either?" Tony asked out loud.

"A servant of the Devil." The priest answered. "A powerful sorcerer. No one ever sees him. He hides in his castle and sends forth that masked warrior to do his bidding. His army makes slaves of the weak and soldiers of the strong. But God will save the faithful."

"Then I guess I'm out." Tony joked. Kane looked at Stark, and they agreed to take refuge for the night. While there, Tony was bored, and began making a makeshift grenade out of spare materials around the church.

"It's here, it's here." The priest claimed, taking a set of papers with him and showing Solomon.

"Do you truly belief that?" Kane asked, worried.

"Every foul thing that the light of Christ kept at bay is crawling out of the pit to curse the land." The priest insisted. Solomon looked up.

"I think Christ and all his angels have just been asleep, whilst we are left to suffer." He replied bitterly.

"You mind your blasphemy!" The priest shouted. "You both mind it! It can only be as God ordains it."

"How can it be right, that this evil is left to walk the earth, whilst all we have to protect ourselves is what?" Solomon asked angrily. "Simple faith?"

"Exactly." Stark added.

"It is written in the scriptures." The priest insisted. Suddenly, Solomon heard a noise, and held up a hand to silence the priest.

"What was that?" He asked, worried. "I heard something outside."

"No, my son." The priest replied. "There is nothing evil out there. It's already here."

"What?" Tony asked. The priest beckoned the two to follow him, opening a cellar door.

"Satan has desired to have them," The priest recited a bible verse. "That he may sift them as wheat." Solomon and Stark looked down, seeing a horde of gray, zombie looking creatures.

"What was I to do?" The priest asked. "I cannot destroy them, they were men and women once! People I knew! Malachi's curse that changed them is no fault of theirs. This is my flock. I keep them. Care for them. Feed them."

"With what?" Solomon asked, but was getting an idea. "What do you feed them?"

"Flesh!" The priest shouted, pushing Kane in. He tried pushing Stark in as well, but Tony quickly spun around, punching the man in the jaw.

"I'm sorry!" The priest shouted. "Please, do not kill me!" Tony simply kicked the man in the face, knocking him out, before turning back to the cellar door.

"Solomon!" Tony shouted, seeing his companion being circled by the creatures. "Find cover!" Even though he didn't know what Tony meant, Solomon nodded, breaking a soft wall and running through. Meanwhile, Stark got out his grenade, lit it by creating sparks with his blades, and threw it threw the door, causing an explosion and multiple creatures to get killed. Tony ran outside, hearing footsteps, just in time to see Solomon burst out of a wooden coffin, and one of the creatures attempting to climb up, but its skin apparently began burning from the moonlight.

"So, reverse vampires." Tony suggested, running over to Kane and helping him up. Tony looked up, seeing the three bandits from before, holding the priest's severed head.

"Friend of yours?" The leader asked, tossing the head at them. Tony looked closer, seeing their eyes were blackened.

"I remember this one, lads." The one with the beard snickered. "He's not a fighter, remember?"

"But his friend is." The bald man pointed out.

"So, you've given yourselves over to this evil, have you?" Solomon asked.

"You should try it." The bearded man suggested. "Malachi will own all this land here soon enough. There's no point in you fighting."

"The only thing round here is fighting." The second bald man retorted.

"But you don't do that, do you?" The leader sneered.

"Well, you know…" Solomon replied casually. "I may just have changed my mind about that." The bald man attempted to take out his sword, but Kane stopped him, taking out his own and slashing the man's neck. Tony shot one of his blades at the second bald man, killing him instantly, while Solomon ducked from the bearded man's attack with an axe, taking a knife and stabbing him in the back. Solomon kicked the bearded man, before grabbing him and forcing him toward the hole with the creatures.

"No! What're you doing?" The bandit shouted, as clawed hands reached up to pull him in. "What are they?"

"Now, this girl." Solomon shouted, pulling out the locket and showing her the picture. "Your kind took her. Have you seen her?"

"I don't know!" The bearded man exclaimed.

"Take a long, hard look." Solomon growled, as Tony retrieved his blade from the second bandit's neck. "This is your last chance to save your pitiful life."

"Alright, I've seen her!" The bearded man told him.

"Where?" Solomon asked, grabbing the man with both hands. "Where have you seen her?"

"She's dead." The bandit said smugly.

"You're lying." Tony shouted.

"I wouldn't lie!" The bandit insisted. "I want to live! She's dead! Dead!"

"She's not dead!" Solomon yelled, kicking the man into the hole to be devoured by the creatures. Solomon walked over to a gravestone of an archangel, kneeling down and cried, not wanting to believe what the raider said.

"She can't be dead." Tony told Kane. "She can't be."

"But what if he's right?" Solomon asked, looking up. "He wanted to live."

"I think he was trying to screw with you." Tony answered, sitting down. "If they killed the girl, they wouldn't have any leverage over you."

"I don't care." Solomon muttered, getting up and going back to the horses. "I have failed her father. And my soul is damned for eternity." Tony gave his friend a sad look, before mounting his own horse, and the two rode to a nearby village, unsure of what to do next.


	7. New Hope

Tony and Solomon arrived at the village, dismounting their horses and entered a tavern. Solomon sat down, ordering a tall tankard of liquor.

"For the bag, leave it all." Solomon said gruffly. The man grabbed the gold and left.

"Thank you sir." The man mumbled, before leaving. Tony sat down next to his friend, having a worried look.

"Listen, I love a drink like any man, but I don't think this is the time." Stark warned.

"What do you care, Stark?" Solomon asked angrily, knocking over the tankard. "Your soul is not the one damned!"

"I'd think otherwise, given what I've done." Tony murmured. "But you can't give up because one person said Meredith's dead."

"He's a servant of Malachi, he'd know!" Solomon shouted, reaching over and picking up the tankard. Just then, two men sat at their table. One had a rather large beard, and the other looked young, no older than his 20s.

"Captain Kane?" The younger man asked. "I'm Henry Telford. Do you remember me? I was a mate on the _Tiercel_ when you captained. Do you remember?"

"It's not him." The bearded man replied.

"It is him!" Henry hissed. "It's Kane. He can lead us, believe me."

"Where to, another tavern?" The bearded man asked. "Look at him! My friend said you were the greatest warrior he ever saw. I don't believe him."

"You shouldn't." Solomon agreed.

"I know what you can do captain. I've seen it!" Henry insisted, but Solomon grabbed him by the ear, pulling him close.

"Those were distant times." Solomon whispered. "She's dead now. And I have forfeit my soul."

"Captain Kane, we need a leader." Henry persisted. "We have to fight back!"

"Then fight back!" Solomon yelled. "She's lost. I lost her. And I am to blame. Let them come and get me. I care not."

"You can't think like that." Tony told Kane. "That witch marked her. They'd have no reason to kill her!"

"You don't know that." Solomon countered, as Henry and the bearded man left. "That raider could've been right." That night, Tony and Solomon slept in a room with multiple other people, only to wake to being captured by raiders working for Malachi. The next morning, they were brought outside in the rain, being surrounded by raiders. The masked rider got off his horse and inspecting Kane and Stark, before walking away.

"This man cannot save you!" One of the raiders yelled. "He is nothing! Crucify him, and burn the town to the ground!" Stark attempted to fight, but was quickly subdued with a punch to the face. The raiders dragged Tony and Solomon over to the crosses on the ground, tying them to the wood. Every time the hammer hit the nail through his hand, Stark groaned in pain. Finally, the crosses were pulled up, and Tony and Solomon looked at the masked rider before he left. While Tony racked his brain to figure out a way out of that mess, he looked over to Solomon, who seemed to be resigned to his fate.

"You might be fine with dying, but I'm not." Tony shouted to him. "I'm an Avenger, and even if we can't save the people we care about, you'd better be damned sure we'll avenge them." With that, Tony pulled his right hand forward, causing tremendous pain, and got his hand free, and causing even more pain, tore his left hand from the nail. Tony then fell to the ground with a thud, feeling a pain shoot up the left side of his body.

"Solomon!" Tony looked up, seeing Meredith in a cage being dragged away. She wasn't dead after all. "Solomon! God help him!" Meredith kept screaming, and Tony looked back at Kane, who ripped his hands from the nails as well, falling to the ground. Tony and Solomon got up, being surrounded by raiders again. The leader raised an axe, about to behead Kane, when his back arched, and he fell to the ground, dead. Henry revealed himself behind the dead raider, and Kane's former crew made short work of the rest of Malachi's servants.

"Captain Kane!" Henry shouted, as a another man went to help Tony. "We need to get you two out of here!" Too tired from what had just happened, Stark and Kane blacked out from the pain, while Henry and the other men dragged them to safety.

 _New York_

 _2012_

The Avengers walked to the center of the plaza, taking Loki with them. It had been a few hours since the Battle of New York, as the news called it, had ended, and it was time for the god of mischief to answer for his crimes. As Thor led Loki towards the center, Erik Selvig and Bruce Banner took the Tesseract, placing it in a small container, and handing it to the god of thunder.

"I will search for Stark." Thor told everyone else, while Loki grabbed the other handle. "You have my word." Without another word, Thor twisted his handle, causing him and Loki to teleport back to Asgard, leaving the rest of the Avengers on Earth.

"Do you think he'll really find Tony?" Bruce asked, concerned.

"From what I have read about mythology, he might have the only means to find Stark." Steve replied, before he drove off on his motorcycle. Natasha and Clint drove away, and Bruce walked towards his own car, hoping that Tony could be found and brought back.

 _Helicarrier_

Nick Fury finished his discussion with the SHIELD council, only to be joined on the bridge by Maria Hill.

"Sir, how does it work now?" Hill asked. "They've gone their separate ways, some very far. What happens if we're in another situation like this?"

"They'll come back." Fury stated.

"Why?"

"Because we'll need them to."

"But what about Stark?" Maria asked.

"There's a chance that he's not dead." Fury told her. "We never saw the body. I've personally asked Thor to look into where he is. He could be anywhere in the universe. Or in a different universe…" Nodding, Hill left, leaving Fury on the bridge to think about where Tony ended up in.


	8. Planning for War

Tony stirred awake, finding himself in a cave. Turning to his side, he noticed that Kane was also awake, lying parallel to him while an old woman chanted a spell.

"Keep your filthy pagan magic away from me." Solomon snarled.

"It is my pagan magic that healed the both of you." The woman shot back. "There's more power here than your Christian God. You'd do well to remember that." The woman left, speaking with Henry and scoffing that Kane would lead them to more blood and darkness. Solomon got up, looking at Tony.

"What?" Stark asked.

"What is that thing in your chest?" Kane asked. Tony looked down, realizing his shirt was taken off, and saw a blue glowing orb in the middle of his body.

"This is what I call an arc reactor." Tony explained. "After an accident in a country in Africa, I created this to help my heart. It's the only thing keeping me alive…"

 _Flashback_

 _2008_

Tony Stark was drinking a scotch in the back of a US military truck, listening to the song "Back in Black", by AC/DC and asking questions from the soldiers. One of them had raised their hand.

"Is it cool if I take a picture with you?" The young man asked.

"Yes, it's very cool." Tony replied. The soldier moved closer to Stark, while the man in the passenger seat got out a camera, and the soldier next to him threw up two fingers, indicating the peace sign. "I don't want to see this on your MySpace page. Oh, please no gang signs. No, throw it up, I'm kidding. I love peace. I'd be out of a job at peace." While the soldiers were arguing over the settings on the camera, an explosion went off, forcing the driver to stop the vehicle. The soldiers began yelling, but Stark couldn't hear them, and they ran outside, only to be gunned down. In a panic, Tony left the truck, picking up a rifle and attempting to fire at anything, mostly missing his shots. He suddenly heard a faint click, the gun's ammo was already empty.

"Shit!" Stark yelled, diving behind a rock and attempting to make a phone call. Something whizzed past Stark, and he looked at the ground, seeing a mortar bomb land next to him. What caught his eye, however, was the fact that the label on the side read "Stark Industries". His company.

"What the-" Tony said out loud, before the bomb exploded, knocking him ten feet away. Slowly, Tony came to, and feeling a pain in his chest, opened his shirt, revealing that the shrapnel from the blast had torn through his specially designed bullet proof vest and made its way into his chest.

Hours later, Tony Stark woke up with a bag on his head. The bag was removed, revealing that had been captured by the terrorist organization known as the Ten Rings, speaking in a language he did not understand.

 _Now_

"It wasn't until afterwards when I met a man named Yinson, who explained to me that they wanted me to build a weapon that could do terrible things in the wrong hands." Tony finished his story. "I had created this reactor as a type of battery to keep the shrapnel from entering my heart. Soon after, I created a suit of armor out of scraps in order to escape that cave."

"Just as well." Solomon remarked, before checking his hands. The wounds were completely healed, save for a small scar. Tony checked his hands, they were healed too. "Let's go."

"What are you doing?" Henry asked, seeing the pair get up. "You two need to rest."

"We're leaving." Solomon answered, grabbing his clothes. "It's not over yet. She's still alive."

"You're barely healed." Henry pointed out. "And we're too few to fight Malachi's men. Just wait a little." In anger, Solomon grabbed Henry by the shoulders and threw him against the cave's walls.

"I do not ask you to come with me, nor do I want you to." Solomon shouted.

"Wait, even I know that war isn't won by sentiment." Tony interjected. "It's won by soldiers. These men are here to fight with you, are you just going to push them away?" Kane looked at his friend, not knowing how to respond. "Look, I'm still a bit iffy on this supernatural crap, but if Malachi's as powerful as everyone here says, we're going to need all the help we can get." Solomon finally nodded, accepting his former crewman's help.

"Thank you, Captain." Henry said. "Now, Malachi was a priest and a healer, but he had sold his soul to the Devil, for the power he now possesses. He enslaves our people, and corrupts the land. And the masked rider, he's the iron fist that commands his army and spreads the poison. He has no face beneath his mask, and can possess you with his touch." Another man scoffed, while Henry insisted that he had seen it.

"If we can kill him, Malachi will be vulnerable." Kane declared. "But first, do you know where this Malachi is?"

"Exmouth Castle." Henry replied. Tony noticed a visible chill go down Solomon's spine.

"Do you know that place?" Stark questioned.

"My father was lord of that castle." Solomon replied. "I grew up there. I didn't even know he died."

"A word of advice: if you don't see the body, you don't know if they're dead." Tony warned. "Take it from someone who's seen too many ghosts come back."

"It's time to end this." Solomon shouted. "Come on! Gather your weapons!"

"Wait, we're not ready!" Henry informed.

"Neither is he!" Solomon retorted. "You've seen me take cities with fewer men!"

"Kane, hold up!" Stark interjected. "We need to think this through, instead of going in head first! We can't just walk up and knock on their front door!"

"I have no intention of walking through the front gates." Solomon smirked. "But what do you have in mind?" Tony smiled.

"Have you ever made armor?" Tony asked. Ten minutes later, Tony, with the help of Solomon and Henry, began to fashion a suit of armor from various pieces of metals, hammering them together into single, solid pieces. Once he was finished, Tony set the mask down in front of Kane, looking similar to his first armor. "This reminds me of when I worked with Yinson. Wish he was here to see this." The armor completed, Tony added his already made wrist blades onto the suit, and stored grenades and other weaponry onto the armor. Finally, Tony put the armor on, looking like a middle ages version of his Avenger alter ego.

"Alright, I'm ready to go." Tony announced, before looking at Kane. "Let's move out."


	9. The Battle of Exmouth Castle

"Are you sure about this?" Tony asked. Solomon had led Stark, Henry, and the small crew through a series of tunnels underneath the castle. Now, they stood beneath a grate, waiting for Malachi's soldiers to pass.

"Yes, we have the element of surprise." Kane replied, opening the grate and getting out. Solomon extended his hand, helping Tony and the other men out, feeling the rain and maid soak into their clothes and armor.

"You lived here?" One of the men asked. Solomon nodded, a yes. "That explains a lot." Suddenly, everyone heard rattling, and looking up, Tony and Solomon saw the witch from before, shaking a skull.

"Welcome home." The witch taunted. "Solomon Kane!" Tony shot a knife at her, the same moment she threw the skull. While the knife became embedded in her chest, the skull exploded on the ground, seemingly signaling Malachi's forces. After replacing his blade, Tony and Solomon joined the rest of the crew in fending off the raiders, before the masked rider appeared, mowing down Kane's men.

"Stark! Telford!" Kane ordered, pushing Henry out of the way and fighting the masked man. "Get the men inside, we can't win this!"

"I'm staying with you!" Tony told him, also dueling the masked man, while Telford and his men made their way inside. Solomon and Tony ducked and dodged, but even with his armor, the masked warrior proved more than a match for them, and with a kick, sent the two towards a small door. Not ready to die, Solomon kicked the door open, pulling himself and Stark through it, and Tony held the door shut until the masked man stopped beating against it. Tony and Solomon ran through the corridors, eventually finding the dungeon.

"Meredith? Are you in there?" Solomon called out, looking through the prison cells. "Is there anyone in there named Meredith?" A lock of a pistol was heard, and Tony turned around to see a raider pointing a pistol at his head. A shot rang out, but given that Tony was wearing a helmet made of metal, the shot bounced off him and hit the raider dead in the face, killing him.

"You're all free. Get out of here." Solomon informed the prisoners, destroying the lock to the cell. Moving on to another cell, Solomon noticed one man in there, looking old and weak. "Come on, old man, you're free."

"Even if you could break those chains, I'd stay." The old man muttered.

"Why?" Tony asked. "You don't like freedom?"

"Because this was my home." The old man replied. Solomon stared at him, recognizing the man.

"Father?"

"Solomon?" The man looked up. "I thought I had lost you forever. You were still a boy when… you left." Solomon desperately tried destroying the chains, but they would not yield.

"Let me try." Tony offered, but even in his suit of armor, he could not break the chains.

"You will never break them." Solomon's father told them. "They were spun with dark magic as much as with metal."

"My father. I have carried such guilt for what I did." Solomon said, with remorse. "I did not mean for Marcus to fall. I did not mean for him to die."

"He did not die, Solomon." The father revealed. Tony's blood turned cold from hearing the story. "If he had, this nightmare would never have begun. He did not survive through God's will. He was terribly injured, and could not wake, so… I brought the sorcerer here."

"You brought Malachi here?" Solomon asked, his voice rising.

"I offered him everything I had." The former king explained. "Just to bring Marcus back. And he succeeded, but Marcus was changed. His face was so damaged by the fall, that he hid behind a mask, and obeyed only the will of the sorcerer." With a chill, Tony realized that it could only mean the masked rider that he and Solomon fought against a few minutes ago. Solomon must have thought the same thing, for his look was one of disbelief.

"No, that thing can not be my brother." Solomon denied.

"That creature is your brother." Kane's father insisted. "Or what remains. And now, Marcus infects those who follow him. Now, I have one last thing to ask of you." Solomon's father took his pistol, and aimed it at his own heart. "We both have our sins to answer for. And I am ready to answer for mine." Despite Solomon's protests, his father kept insisting that he has to, reasoning that he was the reason Malachi was there. Finally, reluctantly, Solomon took the pistol and shot his father, with Tony looking away in the nick of time.

"Come on, we need to keep moving." Tony told his friend, who was struggling to get back up. "I don't know what that was like, being forced to kill your own father, but I have an idea. I lost my parents at a young age. The last time I saw them, I was distant, and I was told they got into an accident an hour later. But we still have a job to do." Nodding, Solomon got up, and began walking out.

"Have you ever had a brother?" Kane asked, stopping for a moment.

"No." Tony quickly said, before cracking a joke. "But yours is making me think of Darth Vader quite a bit."

"Who is this 'Darth Vader'?" Kane asked, confused.

"Oh, he's a…" Tony started, but stopped, realizing Kane wasn't from his era. "Eh, nevermind." Kane and Stark made their way through the tunnels and toward the throne room, where the door was locked.

"Malachi!" Solomon yelled, beating the doors. "I'm here for ya! Isn't this what you wanted?"

"Allow me." Stark offered, kicking the doors open and momentarily startling Malachi. Tony squinted closely, noticing the sorcerer had pale skin, wore a red robe, and had ancient symbols written on his face.

"Solomon! Stark!" The two men looked to their right, seeing Meredith locked up. "No, it's a trap!" Solomon gestured for her silence, before they continued walking towards Malachi.

"Long is the road that the pilgrim walks in the name of his devotion." Malachi murmured. "Yet longer still is the journey home to the land of his fathers. I've been waiting for you. But even so, you could have just knocked."

"I'm not really big on waiting." Tony said sarcastically.

"You are unfit to sit upon my father's chair." Kane accused. "Get up!"

"Your father was a child." Malachi taunted. "A pathetic fool who made a pact with the Devil."

"Says the guy who scribbled gibberish on his face." Tony shot back.

"He betrayed you." Malachi ignored Stark. "Your soul is damned!"

"I said, get up!" Kane yelled.

"Are you still the good, loyal son?" Malachi asked, before turning to Tony. "And you, man of science. I have heard of you. Your pathetic tricks are no match for my magic." Solomon advanced, about to throw his sword, but Malachi got up, vanishing in black smoke.

"Malachi, you coward!" Kane shouted, before walking over to Meredith. "Meredith, are you alright?"

"You came for me." Meredith said, surprised. However, when Solomon went to break the lock, she cried, "Solomon, no, it's a trap! They only marked me so you would come. The Devil wants you."

"Then the Devil can have me." Solomon muttered, breaking the lock. Just then, Solomon felt himself being stabbed in the shoulder. Tony turned around, seeing the masked rider, Marcus. Marcus threw Solomon across the room, and in turn, Tony kicked him away from Meredith.

"Get her out of here!" Solomon shouted, before attempting to reason with his brother. "Meredith, run!" Tony took the lock off, freeing the girl and leading her towards the way out.

"Wait!" Meredith shouted, hiding behind a column. "You have to help Solomon!"

"I need to get you out first." Tony mumbled, before hearing Kane yell at the top of his lungs.

"Where are you Malachi?" Solomon shouted. "Hiding in the shadows?"

"Why should I hide from you? I want you here." Malachi appeared in the middle of the room, his back turned toward everyone else. "Every step you took led you here, every pain you suffered was punishment for your sins. My master will have you." Malachi walked forward, towards a black tarp. "See what the Devil has sent to claim you. This beast will not fail to drag you back to Hell. Your soul is damned!" Malachi pulled back the veil, revealing a large, flaming demon with no eyes or eye sockets, trapped in a mirror.

"Great, now he has a Balrog." Tony muttered. While Solomon and Marcus continued fighting, Tony and Meredith made a run for the door, only to be stopped by Malachi. The sorcerer raised his hand, putting Tony in an invisible bind, and used his other hand to rip off his mask, revealing Stark's tired face.

"A valiant effort, man of science." Malachi mocked. "But you are no knight." Malachi pushed his hand back, telekinetically knocking Tony back towards Kane, and grabbed ahold of Meredith. Tony looked up, just in time to see Marcus on his knees.

"Rest in peace, brother." Solomon told him, decapitating his corrupted brother. "Are you alright, Stark?"

"I'm fine." Tony said, getting up. "We need to save the girl." Just then, they both heard a scream, and looking back to Meredith and Malachi, saw the sorcerer spit blood onto the gigantic mirror.

"Now, you are free!" Malachi declared, as the beast made its way out of the mirror. "Kill them!"

"My God." Solomon murmured. "Only you can help me now."

"Split up, he can't take us both." Tony suggested, diving to the left, as Solomon ran to the right. That proved a mistake, as the monster only was interested in Kane. While Solomon kept running and outmaneuvering the beast, Tony thought quickly pulling out one of his small bombs and took off his wrist blade. After making a small hole in the bomb, he stuck the knife to it, before strapping it back to his wrist and grabbing a torch, lighting the fuse.

"Hey, ugly!" Tony taunted, gaining the beast's attention and giving Solomon enough time to run out and confront Malachi. The beast began advancing towards Stark, and he raised his arm, pointing it at the demon's chest. "YOU. SHALL NOT. PASS!" Tony made a fist, sending the knife/bomb combination flying straight into the monster. It looked down, and a minute later, the bomb exploded, blowing the demon apart into hundreds of pieces. Tony smiled, the last time he did something like that was with a Chitauri Leviathan, after Hulk punched it in the face. There was no time for celebration, though, and Tony caught up to Solomon, who was walking towards Malachi.

"Stop!" Solomon shouted, seeing Malachi holding a knife to Meredith's throat. "Let her go! You can have my soul!"

"Why would you risk everything, even your soul… to save her?" Malachi asked.

"I made a promise." Solomon replied, pointing his gun at the sorcerer. "I must keep it!" Solomon fired a shot, hitting Malachi in the head when he tried to stab Meredith, and his blood spattered a mirror. A vortex in the mirror began swirling, dragging Malachi's body, the pieces of the demon, and an orange light was expelled from Kane's body. With a final yell, Solomon fell to the ground, appearing to be dead. Meredith and Tony approached the body, and believing him to be dead, Meredith began to cry. They both gasped, however, when Solomon's eyes snapped open, revealing he was still alive.

"Thank God." Meredith cried, sobbing. "It's gone."

"Your father told me that if I saved you, my soul will be redeemed." Solomon informed her. "And I have… and it is. And the Devil's claim on me is no more." Just then, Henry and his men entered the throne room, looking bloody and beaten.

"The guards have fallen." Henry announced. Smiling, Solomon laid back on the floor, with Tony sitting down next to him, wanting nothing more than to rest after the past week.


	10. Coming Home

_Asgard_

 _2012_

Thor entered Odin's throne room, pushing Loki forward.

"Well done, Thor." Odin congratulated. "You have stopped Loki, and saved Midgard."

"I had some help, Father." Thor told him, thinking of the Avengers. "And speaking of, I must speak with Heimdall." Odin nodded, and Thor flew to the Bifrost bridge, meeting Heimdall there.

"Odinson." Heimdall greeted.

"Hello, Heimdall." Thor replied. "I trust the Bifrost is rebuilt?"

"It was just finished." Heimdall informed, setting down the Tesseract.

"Good, I must find a friend from Earth." Thor told him. "His name is Anthony Stark, and he went missing after our battle with the Chitauri."

"I have seen him." Heimdall reported. "Your friend is in another universe, one that is set back from the current time by four hundred years. I can send you there, if you'd like."

"Thank you Heimdall." Thor said, and Heimdall thrust his sword into the center of the room, opening a portal. Thor gave his friend one last nod, before jumping through the Bifrost, intent on finding Tony.

 _England_

 _1601_

 _Father, I have kept my promise, and Meredith is returned to her family. The demon is gone, banished back to the shadows, along with the sorcerer who had cursed us all. But evil is not so easily defeated, and I know I will have to fight again. I am a very different man now, with the help of my friend, Anthony Stark. Through all of my travels, all the things I've seen and all the things I've done, I have found my purpose. There was a time when the world was plunging into darkness. A time of witchcraft and sorcery, when no one stood against evil. That time… is over. So swears, the Puritan Avenger._

Solomon and Tony stood at two graves, with Solomon kneeling. One was for his father, the former lord of Exmouth Castle, and the other was for his brother Marcus. After saying his silent prayer, Solomon rose, putting his pilgrim's hat back on his head, and wore the black cape over his shoulders.

"Where will you go now?" Tony asked.

"Wherever evil is." Solomon answered, mounting his horse. "There is still work to be done. Malachi was only the first, and there are more to come. You could join me in this fight." Tony was about to open his mouth, when a blinding light appeared in front of the two men, and out stepped a man with blonde hair and a hammer. Solomon pulled out his pistol, ready to shoot, but Tony held up his hand. He recognized this man.

"Thor?" Tony asked.

"Stark." Thor greeted. "I have come to take you back to our home." Tony looked at Kane, then back at Thor.

"It is alright, Stark." Solomon assured the inventor. "You must go to where you belong. But I will never forget how you helped me destroy Malachi's hold over the land." Kane reached out, shaking Tony's hand. Stark nodded, and after signalling to Thor to go, Thor shouted, "Heimdall!", and the god of thunder and Iron Man were teleported back to their universe. Solomon looked up at the sky, smiling, before riding off as the sun set over the hills.


	11. Epilogue: Rise of the Puritan Avenger

Thor dropped Tony off at Stark Tower, directly on the landing pad.

"Thanks, Goldilocks." Tony joked. "Care to stay for a drink? Seems fair, since I offered your brother one."

"I'll have to decline, Stark." Thor replied. "Ever since I was forced to destroy the Bifrost, the nine realms have been plunged into chaos. I must go to restore order." With that, Thor was teleported off Earth and back to Asgard.

"Dick." Tony frowned, looking at the marking on the pad. "I'll have to have this repainted." Tony walked into the destroyed tower, being met by Pepper.

"Tony, thank God!" Pepper wrapped Tony in a bear hug. "I thought you were dead!"

"I thought so too." Tony told her. "Hey, watch the ribs."

"What are you going to do about Stark Tower?" Pepper asked, indicating it's ruined state.

"I believe this calls for redecorating." Tony said, pulling up a three dimensional blueprint of the building. "And it gives us a reason for remodeling." Pepper laughed, and the two began making plans on how to fix the tower, and how to improve off it.

 _England_

 _1601_

Solomon Kane, dubbing himself the "Puritan Avenger" after being inspired by Stark's stories, had tracked down a group of raiders to a cave, where a campfire was still lit. Sneaking up on one of the raiders, Kane stabbed the man through the chest, killing him instantly. Solomon whirled around, slashing another bandit through his stomach as he pulled out his sword. Two of the raiders attempted to attack simultaneously, but Solomon slashed one's face, and as he locked blades with the second, his leg lashed out, kicking the raider to the ground.

A third raider jumped at him, but Solomon simply pulled out his pistol, shooting the man in the head, before finishing off the second bandit by pulling him in close and stabbing him in the heart. Kane pulled out a second sword, awaiting for the first raider to get back up, and once he did, Kane used both swords to hack and slash his attacker. Two more raiders tried to kill Solomon, but he blocked and parried their sword strikes, kicking the one on the right in the stomach, then punching the left raider in the face.

Both raiders got back up, with a third joining them, as Solomon stabbed the first raider through the stomach and turned around to stop the second from coming up behind him. Using both his swords, Kane went on the offense, disarming the second raider's sword and decapitating him by slashing his swords in a snipping motion, not unlike a pair of scissors.

With the third raider, Solomon slashed chest, before throwing him dangerously close to the fire, killing him from the wounds as a final raider ran at him. Solomon cut open the third bandit's neck, before confronting a fourth raider, knocking him down with a single punch. The man got back up, and Solomon quickly disarmed him, before cutting him across the face. As he knelt down, Solomon plunged his sword through the bandit's chest. More raiders began running toward him, and Solomon made quick work of them, easily slicing through them and not posing a threat. One of the raiders tried to surprise him, but Solomon was ready, using both swords to cut off the man's head, and disarmed the last bandit.

"What are you?" The raider asked, standing still in fear. Solomon stepped closer to him.

"The Puritan Avenger." Solomon replied, before slicing the man's throat, killing him. Kane looked around the campfire, seeing that the raiders were all dead, and saw that his work finished. As he was walking back to his horse, Solomon Kane allowed his swords to rest on his shoulders, the same way they rested when he was a dreaded sea captain. It had taken years of murder and greed, but Kane finally understood God's plan for him; to protect the innocent from the evil lurking in the shadows. And he was ready for them.

 _The End_


End file.
